


Kaboom

by yelir



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Am I tagging this right?, Bomb, Hurt MacGyver, Whump, in which mac blows himself up, injured!macgyver
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 11:36:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13903200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yelir/pseuds/yelir
Summary: In which Mac about blows himself up, much to Jack's frustration.(also the technical information is very much inaccurate, as I am not an expert in bombs nor physics)





	Kaboom

The warehouse stood three stories tall. Creaking concrete beams and spray-painted windows created an ominous feeling that, quite frankly, Jack did not like.

"This place gives me the heebie-jeebies," he whispered to Mac, as the two opened up the large door leading to the first floor of the warehouse.

"Every creepy place gives you the heebie-jeebies," Mac replied, rolling his eyes. He flipped a switch to the right of the entrance, illuminating the long, dark hallway decorated with cobwebs. "If our intel is right, there should be a bomb somewhere in here. And if we're lucky, some bad guys for you to take out, too," he told Jack.

"Why would someone want to put a bomb in this dusty old place? Surely this warehouse isn't necessarily a super desirable target in the criminal world," Jack questioned as the two continued down the hallway. Jack kicked open a door to his left, shining his flashlight in. "This room's clear," he said to Mac, who was about ten meters ahead, already checking the room up to the right.

"Yeah, I don't know why they'd choose this place. If anything the buildings around it would be where they'd want to plant a bomb," Mac replied, brow furrowing as he thought. "I suppose this is a building they figured we wouldn't think to check." The two continued down the hallway, approaching two more doors and a broad concrete staircase ascending to the second story. "I'll check these last two rooms while you go upstairs," he said.

Jack nodded, adjusting his grip on his gun so he could balance his flashlight next to it. He gave Mac a thumbs up as he headed upstairs. Mac opened up the first door to a small storage closet, and then went to open the last set of double doors at the end of the hallway. However, this one was locked; Mac sighed as he jiggled the lock, taking a step back after. "Jack!" he called. "I think I found where they put the bomb." Attempting to peer in through the small rectangle glass windows on each of the doors, it was too dark inside for him to make out anything. Pulling out his pocket knife, he did some swift work as the handle to the door unlocked and he was able to step in.

Flipping on the lights, Mac knew he was right; this area of the warehouse appeared to once have been a vast storage room, several large crates and boxes still lingering on the large shelving systems that stretched around this dingy room. In the center, Mac set his eyes on a familiar sight: a contraption, riddled with wires, ticking down to a clock. Jack was quick behind him, circling around the room to make sure it was clear. "Hey Mac, any new ideas why they'd wanna blow up this dirty thing?"

Mac crouched down next to the bomb, pursing his lips as he evaluated the tangle of multicolored wires. "Yeah, Jack, I do," he gestured with his hand for Jack to come look. "See this green wire?" he pulled it away from the rest of the mess so Jack could see it. "This isn't a normal part of an everyday bomb. Someone put a lot of meticulous work into this. It would take months to figure out the technology and manufacturing itself."

Jack frowned. "It just looks like a wire to me," he mused.

"Yeah, it just looks like a wire. But in simple terms it works as a multiplier. Any reaction you add this wire to, with the chemicals it attaches to, will be, at the least, thirty times bigger than the original reaction with the base materials," Mac explained, continuing to examine the bomb.

"So what you're saying is- this is like a mega-bomb?" Jack took a couple steps back, looking apprehensive to be near the device.

"It makes sense why they put the bomb here. This building may not be important, but the buildings surrounding it are. There's a bank a building down, a post office, and an embassy all in close proximity. This bomb can take out this whole block." Mac rolled back on his heels, scratching his cheek as he contemplated the item.

"Well, how do we make it not go kaboom? Blammo? I know you can fix that baby, boy genius," Jack said with a half-hearted smile. Macgyver looked at him, back at the bomb, and then back at Jack.

"The only way I can minimize the destruction this bomb will cause is by clipping the green wire and preventing that electric current from ever reaching the bomb site," Mac said with pursed lips.

"So? Do that then," Jack replied. "The building's clear."

"Yes, Jack, but doing that would mean that much-smaller scale explosion would still occur. And while it would be smaller, it would still be a potentially fatal explosion. So, when I cut the green wire, a smaller reaction will happen instantaneously," Mac informed him, flipping his red pocket knife over in his hand as he pondered his next move. 

Jack realized the gravity of the situation. "So, while the whole block wouldn't go kaboom, we would go kaboom is what you're saying. Well, damn Mac, that's one hell of a dilemma," he exhaled. 

"Yeah, this floor would essentially be taken out. The building might collapse too. The rest is crude workmanship, without this extra energy it's not built to do much damage," Mac explained. He stood up, coming eye to eye with Jack. "That's why I need you to get out of here. I'll cut it, and you'll make a run for it. Hopefully after the detonation you can track the creator of this bomb and put him behind bars."

"No way, Mac," Jack said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Remember-you get blown up, I get blown up too. I ain't leaving." 

"Jack, you're not staying," Mac replied, tone deadly serious. "The clock's ticking and I need to cut this wire asap. So get outta here and call Matty and the team, let them know what's happening. There's not enough time to evacuate the surrounding areas. This is our best chance."

"To hell with that!" Jack exclaimed. "I'll cut the damn wire and you get out of here."

Mac exhaled deeply, looked down at the bomb, then at the timer display, then back at Jack. "Fine," he grunted. "There's not enough time to argue with you about this. But if you are going to stay then you're gonna be useful. I need you to go back into the hallway; just around the corner there should be a box with a fire extinguisher. Bring me it."

"What on God's green earth do you need a fire extinguisher for?" Jack asked, hitching his gun back into his belt.

"I need the pressurized container to-you know what, I'll spare you the science. Just go get it," Mac replied.

"Fine," Jack said, turning and running out the metal double doors, around the corner. He looked down the hall, jogged around the corner of the staircase, but couldn't find what fire extinguisher Mac was gabbing on about. "Hey Mac," he called as he jogged back to the double doors leading to the old storage room, "there's no fire extinguisher-"

Too late, Jack realized what had happened. Banging on the double doors and helplessly trying the handle, Mac had jammed the door shut, preventing Jack from reentering. "Mac! You idiot, you better open this up right now or I swear-" Jack punched the glass window. Mac was quickly pushing the shelves in front of the door, restricting Jack's view. Pulling his gun from his hip, Jack fired at the door handles until they both came loose, tried to shove his shoulder through the door to little avail-the heavy shelves just wouldn't budge-

and then the world went orange; a strange ringing in Jack's ear, he was on the ground- how did he get here?- everything was muffled-he blinked smoke from his eyes. But where was Mac? Where was Mac? Pushing the debris off of him, he yelled Mac's name; but was he yelling? He couldn't hear, the ringing was too loud, surely his voice had gone raw and scratchy as he screamed for Mac over and over-

"Mac! Mac! Where are you? My God, where are you? You idiot! Mac! Answer me right now!" Jack shouldered his way through what was left of the metal doors and the large shelving systems, stacked with what must have been full crates that were ash. And there he was-he could see Mac, he could see him lying behind a pile of boxes, that idiot must have tried to build himself a sort of makeshift shelter to protect himself from the blast as best he could. "Please don't be dead Mac, you idiot, please don't be dead," Jack said, voice half choked, lungs filled with smoke. He could hear; the ringing had ceased. He frantically knelt down next to Mac, who was still and unmoving, felt his pulse with trembling fingers.

Jack pulled his phone from his back pocket with these same shaky hands and dialed Matty's number. "We need a medvac here now," he told her the moment she answered, with no other explanation as he scooped Mac up in his arms, making sure to grab his pocket knife off the ground, as hot to the touch as it was.

\---

The room was dark; surely it was night time, Mac mused, as he adjusted the pillows beneath his head. But where was he? He reached to the right where he felt a lamp, and turned it on, illuminating his dark hospital room. Mac peered down at his chest, where he could feel stiff bandages wrapped around him. He looked at his arms, also wrapped in bandages; peeling back a piece revealed several gruesome burns Mac knew would heal with time.

Beside the lamp, dozing off in a chair, was Jack. He had a blanket over him, but it was placed awkwardly enough it was evident someone else had placed it there for him. 

"Jack," Mac whispered, poking his friend's shoulder. Jack drearily blinked one eye open.

"About time you wake up," he yawned, smiling at Mac. The smile quickly faded into a frown. "You're damn lucky, you know that, right? Do you know how stupid that was?" 

Mac shook his head. "It wasn't stupid, I had a plan-"

"What was that plan? To get yourself killed?" Jack retorted.

"No," Mac sighed. "I knew if I built enough of a small shelter to ward off the majority of the blast right after it detonated, there was about a 50-50 chance I'd survive. And if I did survive, then I needed you to make sure I got out of there before the building collapsed," he explained to Jack earnestly.

Jack shook his head. "And what if you had died, Mac?" He scooted his chair over so he was right next to the bed. Placing his elbows on the sheets, he put his face in the hands for about a minute before looking back up into Mac's eyes. "If you had died, then I would've been carrying your dead body out. I would've carried your dead body out and I would have had to live the rest of my life knowing that you were gone and I was here, and that I should've gone with you."

Mac exhaled, looking up at the darkened ceiling above, trying to avoid Jack's eyes. "I'm sorry, Jack," he finally said, looking back at his friend. "In the moment all I could think about was how to get us both out of there safely."

Jack nodded, leaning back in his chair and tugging the blanket over his shoulders. They sat in silence for another moment before Jack said, "Well, I guess it worked then, huh?" with a small smile. "But seriously," he added, "if you ever pull another stunt like that again then I'll put you in the grave myself."

Mac shook his head with a small smile. "Okay, Jack," he said. "Thank you for carrying me out."

"Of course, man," Jack replied. "I'm just glad you're alright."

"Me too," Mac said, "me too."

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, feel free to leave a comment!


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